During treatment of the water in bodies of water such as aquariums, ponds, pools and spas, it is standard practice to treat a smaller amount of water ("treatment water" herein) and then inject it into the larger body so that the larger body becomes infused with the treatment substances that are carried by the treatment water. Ozone, oxygen, air, and chlorine are frequently injected into the treatment water, and are carried by it to the larger body where it can serve to control odor and bacteria, for example. There are many other examples, all of which rely on infusing the treatment substances so they are thoroughly dispersed throughout the larger body of water.
Apparatus to inject treatment substances, which may be liquids as well as gases, into treatment water, is well developed. One suitable device is an aspirating injector of the type shown in Mazzei patent No. 4,123,800, which is incorporated herein by reference for its showing of injection of treatment substances into water to form a treatment water, and an injector for doing so. The objective is to provide a high concentration of treatment gas or liquid in the treatment water which, when dispersed in the larger body will control whatever nuisance or risk is involved.
Of course the effectiveness of this procedure is dependent on thorough dispersal of the treatment material. Quite frequently the treatment material will be present at the infusion nozzle both in saturated solution in the treatment water and as bubbles. If bubbles of gas are large and merely float to the surface and burst, the gas is lost, and may even be a hazard. For example, discharge of ozone into the air is strictly regulated, and often systems must be operated with less than optimum ozone throughput in order that undissolved ozone will not escape from the water.
It is an object of this invention to provide an infusion nozzle from which treatment water is injected into a body of water with an improved flow pattern that provides a flow into the larger body in which the bubbles are not only small and well-distributed, but are in a flow stream that, as it infuses into the larger body, incorporates in itself a large region of previously-untreated water in the body. The bubbles are thereby more fully distributed and dissolved in the body of water to be treated.
These objects are attained with only minor energy loss, so that the force and "range" of the plume of treated and directly affected water is not appreciably shortened. This advantage is so pronounced that the output from this infusion nozzle can be used to sweep the bottom of a tank, providing a wider swath, and a vigorous mixing action as well.